Surnames of Irish origin have experienced many changes in their spellings and forms. Before being translated into English, McNemarra appeared as Mac Conmara, which means "hound of the sea" or "warrior of the sea."

Early Origins of the McNemarra family

The surname McNemarra was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where MacConmara or MacNamara was chief of the territory of Clan Caisin, now the barony of Tullagh. The family was also sometimes styled chiefs of Clan Cuilean; derived from Cuilean, one of their chiefs in the eighth century. This ancient family have traditionally held the high office of hereditary marshals of Thomond.

Early History of the McNemarra family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McNemarra research.Another 271 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1402, 1426, 1402, 1797, 1768 and 1826 are included under the topic Early McNemarra History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McNemarra Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, attempting to record a Gaelic name in English was a daunting task. Most names were spelt by scribes solely based on how it sounded, one's name could have been recorded many different ways during the life of its bearer. Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name McNemarra family name.Variations found include McNamara, McNamar, McNamarra, McNamard, Sheedy and many more.

Early Notables of the McNemarra family (pre 1700)

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McNemarra Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McNemarra family to the New World and Oceana

Irish immigrants began to leave the English-controlled Ireland in sizable numbers during the late 18th century. Many of these Irish immigrated to British North America or the United States in the hopes of gaining their own tract of farmland. This pattern of migration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine caused a great exodus of immigrants to North America. These immigrants differed from their predecessors in that they were desperately fleeing the disease and starvation that plagued their homeland, and many were entirely destitute when they arrived in North America. Although these penniless immigrants were not warmly welcomed when they arrived, they were critical to the rapid development of the United States and what would become known as Canada. Many went to populate the western frontiers and others provided the cheap labor the new manufacturing sector and the building of bridges, roads, railways, and canals required. A thorough examination of immigration and passenger lists has revealed some of the earliest people to arrive in North America with name McNemarra or one of its variants: Augustine McNamara who arrived in St. John's Newfoundland in 1794; Bridget, Elizabeth, James, John, Martin, Mathew, Michael, Patrick, Timothy and William McNamara, who all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..